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Senator Young Pushes for Improved VA Efficiency

Senator Todd Young met this week with Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Washington, D.C. to push for faster, more efficient claims processing in the VA. The meeting follows Young’s October visit to the Indianapolis Regional Office to highlight some of the department’s longest outstanding cases.

“Secretary Shulkin is a willing partner and should be commended for the manner in which he has embraced reform,” Young said. “Still, I see many more areas where we can work together to better serve veterans, including improving IT systems, streamlining the appeals process and increasing access to care.”

During the Indianapolis Regional Office visit last month, Young met with a group of veterans who have been waiting for their cases to be resolved for more than five years. Since that meeting, six cases have been resolved, with those veterans receiving nearly $150,000 in back pay.

“It should not take a U.S. Senator walking into a VA office for a claim to get resolved,” Young said. “Our veterans deserve processes that are easy to understand and caseworkers who are quick to respond.”

VA reform has been a priority of the Trump administration. Secretary Shulkin released a 12-point plan for VA reform earlier this year, and President Trump signed the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act in June.